云南省

Why this place

Yunnan is the most diverse province in China — twenty-five minority groups, tropical rainforest in the south, Tibetan plateau in the northwest, and everything between. It has the Stone Forest, the terraces at Yuanyang, the old towns of Dali and Lijiang, and Xishuangbanna's Dai temples and rainforest.

What to see

• Lijiang's Naxi old town and Jade Dragon Snow Mountain
• Dali's Erhai Lake, the Three Pagodas and the Bai villages
• Yuanyang's Hani rice terraces, flooded and reflective from November to March
• Xishuangbanna's Dai temples, rainforest and the Mekong
• Shangri-La and Meili Snow Mountain, in the Tibetan northwest
• The Stone Forest at Kunming, and Pu'er's ancient tea mountains

What to eat

• Crossing-the-bridge noodles, and Yunnan's wild mushrooms in season
• Dai cooking in Xishuangbanna: sour, grilled and banana-leaf steamed
• Bai cooking at Dali — fried milk fan and Xizhou baba; Pu'er tea everywhere

How to plan

Two weeks for a proper trip: Kunming two, Dali three, Lijiang three, Xishuangbanna three, plus transport.

Best time

March–May and October–November; the south is best November–April

Practical tips

• Yunnan is large and the roads are mountain roads — internal flights save days

Cities 16

昆明市 Kunming曲靖市 Qujing玉溪市 Yuxi保山市 Baoshan昭通市 Zhaotong丽江市 Lijiang普洱市 Pu'er临沧市 Lincang楚雄彝族自治州 Chuxiong红河哈尼族彝族自治州 Honghe文山壮族苗族自治州 Wenshan西双版纳傣族自治州 Xishuangbanna大理白族自治州 Dali德宏傣族景颇族自治州 Dehong怒江傈僳族自治州 Nujiang迪庆藏族自治州 Diqing